Biography

Harry Parker rowed for the University of Pennsylvania and was a member of the 1955 crew that won the Grand Challenge Cup at the Henley Royal Regatta. In 1959 Parker won a gold medal in the single sculls at the Pan-American Games and finished second in the Diamond Sculls at Henley to six-time champion, and Olympic silver medalist, Stuart Mackenzie.

In 1961 Parker became freshman crew coach at Harvard, being promoted to varsity coach in 1963 after the death of Harvey Love from a heart attack. Parker became a coaching legend at Harvard, coaching for 51 years there, through 2013. During that time his Harvard crews won 16 official and unofficial national championships, 23 victories at the Eastern Sprints, eight victories at the San Diego Crew Classic, and his record against Yale was 44-7. Parker served as a US Olympic coach for various boatings at every Olympics from 1964-84, including the 1976 women’s eight that won a bronze medal. The boathouse at Harvard was named for Parker in 2008. His second wife was Kathy Keeler, the stroke of the gold-medal winning US women's eight at the 1984 Olympics.

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